Denver’s Andre Iguodala struggles to shoot over Golden State’s Klay Thompson in the second quarter Monday night at the Pepsi Center. Iguodala played his first preseason game as a Nugget in front of the home crowd.

That’s the role the 6-foot-6 Andre Iguodala played for much of Monday night, his Pepsi Center debut in white and blue. The new Nugget tallied a game-high seven assists in Denver’s 104-98 exhibition victory against Golden State. While he struggled finding his release on his shot — 2-for-9 from the field — the former 76er showcased his smart, sharp passing to the 11,621 sports fans in Denver who didn’t watch the Broncos game.

“He’s a great pickup for them — a guy who’s a winner,” Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. “He’s versatile, and he’s a guy you have to pay attention to. He adds a different dimension to this Nuggets team.”

Different, indeed. Iguodala gives Denver the luxury of utilizing the point forward (where a forward essentially runs the offense), giving guys such as Ty Lawson the freedom to zip around floor to open territory.

Introduced last in the starting lineup, Iguodala was welcomed to the loudest ovation by the Nuggets’ faithful, and he promptly scored on Denver’s first basket, a fadeaway baseline swish. And, on the second possession, he began racking up the assists, selling a shot fake and slipping a pass to Kenneth Faried for a dunk.

“I’ve just been trying to feel out all the guys, see who likes the ball where, and where they like to catch it and score,” Iguodala said. “As long as I keep finding guys, it’s going to open it up more for me and make it easier for me. And it’s fun that way, too.”

Late in the first, Iguodala utilized his speed to dart downcourt during transition. He received a pass from Lawson, paused and then fired it back to Lawson, who splashed a 3.

“Ty is tremendous against any type of defensive recovery,” Denver coach George Karl said, “and with Andre (Miller) and (Danilo) Gallinari, you have two guys who are going to shrink the defense to them, and then you play against the recovery. Ty, I don’t know how you stop him when you have to come from help defense to take him out. How we get the play-making mentality in the game (is important).”

Another telling play happened in the final ticks of the first half. Golden State scored with five seconds left. Yet Iguodala went coast-to-cast, slicing through two defenders and releasing a layup attempt while being fouled – with just one second left.

The guy wasn’t perfect. He missed a bunch of shots, some contested, others frighteningly open. Denver is now 3-0 in the exhibition season.

Stone out for a while. Julyan Stone is still recovering from his hip surgery, and Karl said Monday that his No. 3 point guard could be sidelined at least until January. The Nuggets are high on the undrafted 6-6 point guard who, as a rookie last season, showcased a strong work ethic and the ability to play the point. Still, he didn’t play much last season and probably wouldn’t have played too much this fall because of the depth on the roster.

Benjamin Hochman was a sports columnist for The Denver Post until August 2015 before leaving for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his hometown newspaper. Hochman previously worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Hochman wrote the Katrina-themed book “Fourth and New Orleans,” published in 2007.

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